New United signing Ben Williams spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's James Phillips on Friday evening as he talked about his move from Crewe to Carlisle this week, Williams also chatting about the early part of his career at Manchester United :
" I met up with the manager John Ward and spoke with him for a bit. It took about five minutes really, the first bit of conversation I realised that it was definitely somewhere where I wanted to be. I think the deal was pretty much done in a couple of days, the formalities and stuff. I probably heard about it just over a week ago when it was made clear that Keiren (Westwood) was going to be moving on to Coventry. Within a couple of days it was done and dusted." I've played against them (Carlisle) now for the last couple of seasons and they have always done well. We played them last year and they beat us twice, at Brunton Park and up at Gresty Road. I was very impressed with them, the way that they played football and they worked really hard throughout the season. It was just a shame that they fell away at the end a little bit.
" It's very tough to move on from Crewe, just in respect of the people, they have been really good to me there, the management and the coaching staff. There is a loyalty that really you have to show as a footballer to a club, but it came to the stage where it came down to it being a real personal choice about my career and how I felt I needed to progress as a player. As a young ambitious player how I was going to progress up the league to be the best player that I can be as soon as possible.
" Not having a goalkeeping coach has been my major sticking point since I joined really. When I left Manchester United and came on loan at Crewe there wasn't a goalkeeping coach but I still went back to United to get coaching from Tony Coton. So it was fine during my loan spell, but when I spoke to Dario (Gradi) about it being a permanent deal I stipulated that really I wanted a goalkeeper coach. "
" At 21/22 you need to be ironing out any little mistakes that you have got and bad traits, the coaching specialising it has to be worked with. I have not had a goalkeeper coach now for the last three seasons, nothing at all. The first season I was there we brought a goalkeeper coach in and he was only in for a couple of hours a week on a Wednesday morning. So I feel that it has really hampered my progress and how rapid I thought my progress would be once I started playing league football.
" When I spoke to the manager here about it he was adamant that it was something that he felt was necessary for goalkeepers with it being such a specialised position. So with me missing out on that who knows, I went from playing non-league football at 17 to being on the bench for Manchester United in the Champions League at 21 with four years of goalkeeper coaching. So who knows where I would be with another four years coaching, or what sort of standard I would be at. I think have done well though considering, and I'm looking forward now to improving on what I have already got.
" It was amazing at Manchester United, obviously being a Manchester lad and supporting them as a boy it's a dream come true, it's a bit of a cliché but it was. It was a real eye opener, at first it is quite hard to adjust to training and playing games with players that you have only ever seen on the TV and have had posters on your walls of. I had to settle down quickly though, at the end of the day it's a job like any other, and you have to get your work done. I had to knuckle down and work really hard and progress the way that I did.
" I was involved with the first-team squad from quite an early age, I was lucky enough to be involved with them from about the age of 19. Goalkeeper-wise when I first got there Peter Schmeichel was just leaving, I worked with him for about two months, obviously Raimond van der Gouw, then Mark Bosnich, Fabien Barthez, Roy Carroll and Tim Howard mainly. Outfield players, I have been lucky enough to work with David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, any of the Manchester United players that people are familiar with over the years. Then probably the latest worldwide sensation has been Cristiano Ronaldo. "
" I used to stay behind in training and practice penalties with Ruud van Nistelrooy, that was always a difficult one. Probably the best player that I have ever trained with and saved a penalty from would be Paul Scholes, without a shadow of a doubt. I used to stay behind, being the younger keeper I was always the first port of call if anyone wanted to do any extra work. So I was happy to stay behind and do some shooting and penalty blasts and things like that with Ruud.
" My illness was probably as serious as it can get really. I think a lot of people would turn around to me now and say that I was probably still lucky to be playing. It was serious at the time, there have been absolutely no repercussions of it over the last two years since it happened but it was a bout of Meningoencephalitis, which is a form of Meningitis that affects your brain and the lining of your brain.
" That was serious, they didn't think that I would be up and walking again between six to nine months after it happened. Three months after it though I was fully fit and ready to do a pre-season way ahead of schedule, probably against some doctors orders but I was just eager to get going. So it was serious but happily behind me and I'm fully confident that I'm well over that now, definitely.
" We can definitely get to the Championship, they were just incredibly unlucky not to do it last season. If the manager adds to the squad and we can keep the home form going like they did do last season and improve on the away form, then without a shadow of a doubt I don't see why Carlisle can't be playing in the Championship next year and I'd be proud to be a part of that. "
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